Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

 YUM!

12 cupcakes:

1½ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon table salt

8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), room temperature

½ cup sour cream

1 large egg , room temperature

2 large egg yolks , room temperature

1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Baby Shower Display!

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin/cupcake tin with paper or foil liners.

2. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add butter, sour cream, egg and egg yolks, and vanilla; beat at medium speed until smooth and satiny, about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula and mix by hand until smooth and no flour pockets remain.

3. Divide batter evenly among cups of prepared tin. Bake until cupcake tops are pale gold and toothpick or skewer inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 24 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from tin and transfer to wire rack; cool cupcakes to room temperature before frosting.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:

1 stick of butter

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 TB. milk

powdered sugar (3-5 cups; depending upon weather and consistency you desire of frosting

Beat together all ingredients.  Add more powdered sugar or milk as needed.

I find that using a gallon size bag and cutting the corner off does just the trick for pipping frosting.  

Enjoy! Savor every bite!

Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Moist and Delicious Vanilla Cupcakes you won't be able to resist!

YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

12 cupcakes:

1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon table salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), room temperature
½ cup sour cream
1 large egg , room temperature
2 large egg yolks , room temperature
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin/cupcake tin with paper or foil liners.

2. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add butter, sour cream, egg and egg yolks, and vanilla; beat at medium speed until smooth and satiny, about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula and mix by hand until smooth and no flour pockets remain.

3. Divide batter evenly among cups of prepared tin. Bake until cupcake tops are pale gold and toothpick or skewer inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 24 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from tin and transfer to wire rack; cool cupcakes to room temperature before frosting.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

yield: enough for 12 cupcakes

1/2 cup butter at room temperature

2 Tablespoons vegetable shortening

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups confectioners sugar

2-4 tablespoons milk

1.  In a large bowl, cream together the butter, shortening, vanilla, and cocoa powder

2.  Blend in the sugar in two batches, beating well after each addition

3.  Beat in the milk, adding until desired consistency is reached and continue mixing on medium high speed until light and fluffy.

Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

I was just in the mood to bake today and ended up with six GIANT amazing cupcakes!  Man or man, does my house smell good!  I found this recipe is from simplyrecipes.com and used my own buttercream frosting recipe!  I bet you will want more than just one!

Cupcake Ingredients

• 8 Tbsp (1 stick, 4 ounces) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup Dutch processed cocoa
• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons mint extract



I used a peeler to make the chocolate
curls on top!

• 1/2 cup sour cream

Cupcakes

1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a muffin tin by lining it with cupcake liners. Use a double boiler or add an inch or two of water to a medium sized saucepan and place a metal bowl over it, bringing the water to a simmer. Add butter (cut into chunks), chocolate, cocoa to the bowl. As the butter and chocolate melt, whisk until the ingredients are well combined and smooth. Remove from heat and let cool to touch.

2 In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder.

3 In a large bowl (can use a mixer), beat the eggs. Add the salt, the sugar, the mint extract and beat until well combined. Slowly add in the chocolate butter mixture and beat until combined.

4 Add in half of the sifted flour mixture, mix to combine. Mix in the sour cream. Mix in the remaining flour mixture.

Or a fresh piece of mint from the
garden will do!

5 Spoon the batter evenly into the lined muffin cups. Place in oven in middle rack. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until tops spring back when touched and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

6 Let cool in muffin tin on a rack for 15 minutes. Then gently remove cupcakes from the tin and let cool completely before frosting.

Makes 12 small cupcakes or 6 large cupcakes. (of course I made the LARGE cupcakes :) )

Buttercream Frosting

• 8 Tbsp butter, room temperature
• 1 Tbsp milk
• 1/4 teaspoon mint extract
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 squirt of green food coloring
• 2 cups powdered sugar

1 In an electric mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy. Beat in milk, vanilla and mint extract and a squirt of green food coloring.

2 Slowly add in the powdered sugar on low speed, stopping every now and then to scrape down the sides of the bowl, until light and fluffy. Taste and add more vanilla/mint extract if it isn't minty enough for you, or powdered sugar if it isn't sweet enough for you.

Root Beer Float Cupcakes

D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S.  You'll have to try this recipe out!

 Root Beer Float Cupcakes

2 cups root beer 

1 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder


1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces


1 1/4 cups granulated sugar


1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar


2 cups all-purpose flour


1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda


1 teaspoon salt


2 large eggs

Toppings


1 1/2 cups heavy or whipping cream


5 tablespoons powdered sugar


1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract




Make the root beer cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 22 cupcake cups/or 10 large cupcake cups with paper liners. In a small saucepan, heat the root beer, cocoa powder and butter over medium heat until the butter is melted. Add the sugars and whisk until dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool.

In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs until just beaten then whisk them into the cooled cocoa mixture until combined. Fold the liquid and flour mixtures together in the large bowl. The batter will be slightly lumpy; this is okay. If you overbeat it, it will get tough.

Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 to 3/4 full (a 1/4 cup scoop or measuring cup will filled mine perfectly) and bake cupcakes, rotating trays back to front and top to bottom halfway through, until a tester inserted into the center of each comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Assemble cupcakes: Whip heavy or whipping cream with powdered sugar and vanilla until it holds soft peaks. You can do this with an electric mixer, but if you do it by hand, not only will you get a killer arm workout (which you can trade in for a cupcake, very soon), it will be nearly impossible to overbeat the cream. (Which I almost always do with a mixer.)

Use the tip of a knife to cut a small cone of cake out of the top center of each cupcake; feel free to snack on these, I won’t tell anyone. Using a spoon or a small cookie scoop, nest a scoop of ice cream in each indent. Surround ice cream with dollops of whipped cream. Top with a cherry, if using. To keep cupcakes in a holding pattern while you assemble the remaining ones, you can put them in the freezer, but try to do so for no more than 5 minutes or the whipped cream will harden.

Eat immediately.

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

12 mini cupcakes or 6 LARGE cupcakes.  Obviously go big or ... go home!  This is a sweet sinful cupcake that you will NOT be able to put down!

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, break up into pieces

1/2 cup cocoa powder

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

2 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sour cream

1.  Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line muffin pan with appropriate size baking cup liners.

2.  Combine butter, chocolate, and cocoa in medium bowl.  Set over saucepan with simmering water to melt and combine or microwave mixture until all three ingredients until smooth and combined. Set aside to cool until just warm to the touch.

3.  Whisk flour, baking soda and baking powder in small bowl to combine.

4.  Whisk eggs in bowl to combine.  In mixer add eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt until fully incorporated.  Add cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until combined.  Sift about one-third of flour mixture over chocolate mixture and whisk until combined; whisk in sour cream until combined, then sift remaining flour mixture over and whisk until batter is combined and thick.

5.  Divide the batter evenly among the pan cups.  Bake until skewer inserted into center of cupcakes comes out clean.  18-20 minutes for small cups.  22-25 minutes for large cups

6.  Cool cupcakes in muffin pan on wire rack until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes. Cool to room temperature  before icing, about 1/2 hour.

Peanut Butter Frosting.  YUM!

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

5 tablespoons salted butter, room temperature

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup heavy cream

In a mixer combine sugar, peanut butter, butter, and vanilla.  Mix on medium-low speed until creamy.  Add the cream and beat o n high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

Spread frosting over cupcakes and enjoy :)

Dark Chocolate/Peanut Butter Frosting on top and bottom and
Root Beer Float Cupcakes in the middle! YUM!